Andrea Shalal, David Lawder

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen will skip sessions at this week’s G20 finance conference in protest of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. She will also urge members of the International Monetary Fund to put more pressure on Moscow. Two senior U.S. Treasury officials stated on Monday.

One official said that the Treasury Department would focus its efforts on those who seek to avoid the harsh sanctions placed on Russia for the war and on those who help facilitate these attempts.

The official stated that Yellen’s decision not to attend sessions with Russian officials reflects the U.S. belief that Russia should be expelled from international financial institutions due to its invasion.

Anton Siluanov is the Russian Finance Minister. He may participate in at least a portion of the G20 meeting virtually, the official stated. The statement reiterates Yellen’s comments recently that Russia can not continue to be “business-as usual” with the G20 and other international institutions.

Yellen will be attending the G20 Finance session about the economic effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine. This session includes the IMF forecast that Ukraine’s economy would contract by 35% this year. Officials from Russia will not be present at the G20 finance session on Ukraine’s economic impact. However, they said that it was vital for Yellen participate and support American allies.

One official stated that Washington and its allies would continue to hold consultations about sanctions placed on Russia. They will also focus their efforts on stopping evasion of previous sanctions.

Although the official did not discuss next steps in detail, he stated that Russia would be subject to additional sanctions. These measures could include those targeting Russian industry sectors.

According to the Treasury Department, Yellen will chair a high-level group on Tuesday to examine the global response of the world to a Russia-invasion-caused food security crisis.

Moscow refers to the Ukrainian attack as “special military operation.”